Why Angela Rayner being cleared over her tax affairs is a problem for Streeting’s bid for No 10
The tax affairs issue that triggered Angela Rayner’s resignation from the government had been on the agenda for months and was seen as a major obstacle to her standing in any potential leadership contest.
But in a statement on Thursday morning, the former deputy prime minister announced that he had been cleared by HMRC, saying he had been “acquitted” of the charge that he deliberately tried to avoid tax.
As the threat of a leadership race continues in the Labor Party, Ms Rayner’s latest intervention is significant.
This paves the way for him to throw his hat in the ring and represent a soft left option for the party, while also putting more pressure on Sir Keir Starmer to step aside.
He said the beleaguered prime minister should not contest any leadership contest. Guard He understands why his colleagues are so unhappy with the direction of the party after the disastrous local election results.
While Ms. Rayner has denied triggering the leadership race herself, she has not ruled out taking part in one triggered by one of her rivals.
Frankly, he expects Wes Streeting to fire the starting gun in the coming days or the prime minister to step aside voluntarily.
What is not yet clear, however, is the conditions under which Ms. Rayner will survive.
The former deputy prime minister did not rule out backing a soft-left challenger if they had a better chance of success in any contest, and argued Manchester mayor Andy Burnham should not be prevented from returning to parliament; He suggested that if he returned, the two could make a deal.
“We cannot afford to be factional on this issue. We cannot afford to have egos,” he warned.
A Rayner-Burnham pact, with one as leader and the other as chancellor or MP, would be a formidable force on the left of the party and extremely difficult for Mr Streeting to defeat, seen by many as too right-wing to win membership.
But if Burnham returns and Ms Rayner still opposes him, such a move could split the left-wing vote and make it easier for the health minister to triumph.
But most importantly, Ms Rayner’s intervention put further pressure on Sir Keir to step aside and made the prospect of a close leadership race much more likely.
Mr Streeting will be aware of the threat posed by the Rayner-Burnham combination of forces, and such a possibility will only put pressure on Mr Burnham to act quickly and trigger a rivalry before he has the chance to return to Westminster.
With Ms Rayner now on the sidelines, the next few days are crucial for the health secretary’s hopes of entering Downing Street.
